


Fight (For Me)

by meliore



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Awkward Bucky Barnes, Denial of Feelings, Fights, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Shy Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-03 01:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16316216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meliore/pseuds/meliore
Summary: Tony is no stranger to fights, and he's no stranger to fights with Barnes. But he just wanted to drink his coffee in peace.Why does it matter if the shirt he's wearing belongs to Barnes? After all, there's no way the man can prove that.





	Fight (For Me)

**Author's Note:**

> i was searching for otp prompts and came across [this](https://wonder7pickle.tumblr.com/post/169122787306/45-otp-prompts#notes) and since i have a tumblr, but it's totally empty (no posts and no followers) and there's no other place i feel like doing a Choose A Prompt™ thing, i used a random number generator.
> 
> the prompt ended up being #16, "is that my shirt?" and this thing was born.
> 
> i'm thinking about, one day, just... leave my tumblr user/the link to my tumblr here. but i'm still not sure.
> 
> rated as teen and up because of Swear Words™
> 
> this is (kind of) unrevised!!

“Is that my shirt?”

Recently, to the surprise of exactly no one, Tony couldn’t sleep.

Well, he could, but never for enough time.

He came out of bed some hours ago, spent some time in the workshop -- he did think about what he should do, but in the end, he hadn’t even planned something -- and he realized there was no way he could stay awake for more time without coffee.

Somewhere between those things, he might’ve took Bucky’s shirt. He didn’t remember.

“No,” he looked down. It was a bit… Big for him, but it was plain black. Could very well be _his_ shirt, Bucky wouldn’t know. “No, it isn’t.”

“Yes, it is,” look. Tony only wanted to drink a bit of coffee. He was a family man -- DUM-E, Butterfingers, U and JARVIS could prove that -- and he didn’t deserve that… That slander.

“You can’t know, Barnes.”

He’s pretty sure that if JARVIS had a physical body, he’d be eating popcorn while watching the tension build itself around them.

“I can,” how? _How?_ He closed his eyes. It’s okay. It’s fine. Sip a bit more of coffee, don’t care, don’t reply, you’re bigger than that.

_Don’t reply, you’re bigger than that_ , said the great Captain America, trying to help a member of his team, when he realized that James Buchanan Barnes seemed to have this obsession with annoying him. _Bucky can be a real asshole, and I know that you’re not the type to keep quiet when someone annoys you, but don’t reply. You’ll only make him want to annoy you more._

_Why?_ , he had asked. Steve blinked.

The warning they had a mission came right when he had turned to stare the wall, and not Tony’s face, and opened his mouth.

He still has no idea what he was going to say.

“You _can’t._ Leave me alone, pretty please?” he said please. He’s bigger than annoying Barnes, he’s bigger than annoying Barnes, he’s _bigger than annoying Barnes_.

“First of all, that shirt is not even your size!”

He opened his eyes again.

Fuck it. Like hell he’s gonna be the bigger one when he’s discussing with someone who is literally ninety-something years old!

“So what? I can’t buy bigger shirts now because the great Bucky Barnes disapproves? Is that so?! I could very well like something bigger than me!”

“Second,” did he-- did he-- did he literally just fucking _ignored_ what he said like it was nothing-- “I have only one black shirt.”

“And what about it?”

Tony has no idea why it feels personal.

Tony has no idea why, when they have their fights -- they’re real, they’re not a joke, but they’re not too serious. He thinks they’re not too serious, at least -- it feels so personal. Like it’s their thing. He remembers getting pissed off when Barnes and Natasha fought about what food the team would have as a dinner.

Maybe he actually hates the guy and he took Natasha’s side.

“And third,” he’s ignoring Tony. Wouldn’t be a problem if he wasn’t the one who fucking started. He’d tell Cap exactly that: _he started it_. “You never wear clothes that are too big or too small for you. I’d know.”

“You barely see me, Barnes.”

“I don’t? We always team up in missions,” he should just leave before Steve happens to see them fighting on his way to his morning run. It’s dark, and yet, he always goes out around this hour.

“That’s not valid. You never see me when we’re not working.”

For one reason or for another, that was the right thing to say: he sees Barnes’ cheeks becoming red.

He deserves it. Tony was literally quiet, peaceful, by his own, not even poking anyone.

_Be the mature one, Tony._

He finishes the coffee. As much as they fight with each other, Tony has to admit that when one of them go silent, they feel tense.

It makes no sense. If he didn’t knew himself better, he’d say that they get worried when one of them is not replying. He knew he didn’t worried about it. And he was pretty fucking sure Barnes wouldn’t worry about him unless he got hurt in a mission.

That’s always the exception.

“Look,” he takes a deep breath. “If you want your shirt so much, I can take it off.”

This time, it was Barnes who closed his eyes. He counted -- likely from ten to one. That was what he could interpret from his mouth's movements, at least -- and sighed.

Tony has a memory of when he was very annoyed about something in college. Part of him thinks it was serious, part of him thinks it wasn’t. He doesn’t remembers much.

He does remember that at some point, Rhodey told him to count and it only made the situation worse.

Well, it works for some.

Barnes opens his eyes again. He has made a decision.

And Steve barges in the kitchen, as Tony knew he would.

He’s ready, but he loses a bit of his determined posture when he realizes he’s not alone in the kitchen.

“C’mon, guys,” he lost more than his posture. Tony feels that seeing this situation, the situation he’s so used to seeing, makes him lose a part of his soul. The part of his soul who is capable of dreaming and of having hopes for humanity. “You two are not fighting again, right?”

While Barnes says _no, we’re not_ , Tony says _he started it_.

And he’s tired, so it’s perfectly justifiable that when Steve gives his best friend a look that is almost offended, he has a tiny smile in his face.

Suddenly, all the shyness -- Tony is going to call it that, although silent, cold anger would be a more appropriate name -- Barnes seemed to feel goes away.

“Steve!” he points to Tony, holding Steve’s shoulder. “Steve, he’s _fucking_ smiling!”

And he’s tired and Barnes did start it, so it’s perfectly justifiable that when Steve turns, Tony looks miserable.

“Bucky,” Steve turns back to face his _lying_ best friend. “This is from the bottom of my heart, as your best friend, as someone who looks up to you like you’re my older brother. You can’t let this go on. You’re an adult. Be a man and just tell Tony--”

Tony has to hold his laughter when Barnes gives Steve a little nudge. A little nudge that, if he didn’t held the kitchen island, could send him flying across the kitchen.

He hopes the kitchen island is okay.

“Bucky!” Steve complains.

“Get out of here and go to your morning run, Stevie,” this sounds like the most threatening thing Tony has ever heard coming out of Barnes’ mouth. Is that bad when Tony has heard the Winter Soldier himself threatening someone? “It’s none of your business.”

Steve is offended, but he leaves after staring to Barnes for some time and then staring to Tony and staring to Barnes once again.

By the time he’s out of the kitchen, the atmosphere has lost the funny aspect it had.

What a pity.

“You want your shirt back or not?” Tony tries, one more time.

Barnes blinks.

“You... You can keep it.”

Tony is left alone.

He had a lot of fights in his life. Not considering the ones with villains, some of them had awkward endings.

They were understandable, though. Most of them were caused by a misunderstanding.

So the feeling he has when Barnes leaves is not surprise about the fact that they didn’t took it to another level -- like wearing their _uniforms_ and punching each other in a way their strength was almost equal -- because, well, it’s not like he’d enjoy that type of fight right now.

He’s surprised that Barnes left him alone so easily.

As if he didn’t cared for the shirt.

Well, his loss.

Tony can be an awesome opponent.

A very awesome one.


End file.
